Skip to content
logo
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Donate
search
newsearch
  • Close
  • Home
  • Events
  • News
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Who We Are
    • About The Alliance
      • Staff
      • Board of Directors
  • What is Longleaf?
    • The Tree
      • Life Stages
      • The History
      • The Economics
      • The Misconceptions
    • The Ecosystem
      • Built by Fire
      • Habitats
      • Species Diversity
    • Restoration & Management
      • Groundcover Restoration
      • Herbicides
      • Longleaf Regeneration
      • Prescribed Fire
    • Photo Gallery
  • What We Do
    • Restoration Through Partnerships
      • America’s Longleaf
      • LEO
      • Corporate Sustainability Programs
      • Nurseries
    • Longleaf Assistance
    • Conserving Diverse Forests
      • Rare Species
      • Forests & Water
      • Georgia Sentinel Landscape Prescribed Fire
    • Education & Outreach
      • Longleaf Academy Program
      • Biennial Longleaf Conference
      • Burner Bob®
      • Next Generation
      • The Longleaf Leader
      • The Longleaf Library
      • The Owen Fellowship
  • What You Can Do
    • Support The Alliance
    • Conservation Partners
    • Get Involved
    • Merchandise
    • Subscribe

The Ecosystem

HomeWhat is Longleaf?The EcosystemHabitats

Habitats

Longleaf pine forests covered an extensive geographical range. Perhaps what is taken for granted is how diverse this forest type was (and is) across the landscape.

Seeing longleaf pine forests today, many people often (erroneously) assume that the species is relegated to dry sandy ridges or steep south-facing slopes. On the contrary, areas too steep, too dry to farm or too poor to grow loblolly or slash pine are, for the most part, merely a vestige of the richness that once was the longleaf pine ecosystem.

For thousands of years, subtle differences in soils and topography influenced fire behavior, site productivity etc. This affected the composition of the forest, e.g., groundcover plants, insect and animal species, and tree height, to name a few.

These habitat types can generically be lumped into four groups: montane, sandhill, rolling hill, and flatwoods/savannas. Follow the links below to learn more about these remarkable habitats of the longleaf pine ecosystem.

Montane  |  Sandhills  |  Rolling Hills  |  Flatwoods/Savannas

Montane

Berry College - montane old growth 2

Montane longleaf pine was found dominating the southern and southwestern slopes (though not confined to them) and ridgelines up to about 2000 ft. elevation in north Alabama and northwest Georgia. This habitat also includes an isolated ridge starting at Pine Mountain, GA and extending to Thomson, GA. Since much of longleaf pine's northern boundary is found in this habitat type, the forest is seen to subtly grade from a pure longleaf pine overstory to an overstory of mixed southern pines at its fringes. About 20 % of the pre-settlement longleaf pine ecosystem was covered by this habitat type.

Soils

The soils in which montane longleaf grow are well drained with beds of flinty pebbles, sandstone ridges and even rock outcrops. In particular, they grow on rocky ridges and slopes that contains sandstone, quartzite, phyllite, mica schist and gneiss.

Common Plants

Broomstraws, bluestems, goat's rue, bracken ferns, rushes, sedges, and sensitive briar

Common Trees and Shrubs

Scarlet oak, mountain blueberry, mountain laurel, American chestnut, blackjack oak, Virginia pine, shortleaf pine, pig nut hickory, mockernut hickory, rock chestnut oak, and southern red oak

Fire Frequency

One to five years; fire either crept down ridgelines or roared up steep slopes

Without Fire

Quickly turns into a hardwood/mixed pine forest (especially Virginia and shortleaf pines)

Sandhills

Walthour Moss Sandhills

The Sandhills are characterized as ridges of loose, porous sand that begin in southern Virginia and runs through west Georgia at about 500 to 600 feet above sea level. Isolated sand ridges also exist in the Florida panhandle and peninsula. Longleaf pine sandhills are characterized as a forest of widely spaced pine trees with a fire-stunted understory of deciduous (scrub) oaks and a sparse to continuous ground cover of bunchgrasses and herbs. Today, sandhill longleaf sites make up some of the largest acreages of the remaining longleaf pine habitat (despite comprising roughly 10% of the original landscape).

Soils

Sandhill soils are droughty, deep beds of white sands that are relatively low in fertility and result (often) in lower species diversity and usually shorter longleaf pine. In some areas sands can be 2-15 feet deep. In some areas of the Carolinas, sands can be 100 - 150 feet deep without changing.

Common Plants

Pricky pear cactus, wiregrass, bluestems, hairsedge, piney woods dropseed, gopher apple, golden aster, hairawn muhly, pineland phlox, sandhill lupine, bird's foot violet, dwarf iris, fringed bluestar, pinebarren frostweed, pineland wild indigo, man-root (morning glory), sandhill roseling, orange-fringed orchids, yellow-eyed grasses, narrowleaf sabatia, threadleaf gererdia, goat's rue, butterfly pea, and Carolina indigo

Common Trees and Shrubs

Turkey oak, bluejack oak, southern red oak, blackjack oak, sand post oak, myrtle oak, Arkansas oak, mockernut hickory, sand hickory, black cherry, sassafras, blackberry, sparkleberry, persimmon, low-bush blueberry, and pawpaw

Fire Frequency

Two to seven years carried almost exclusively by bunch grasses

Without Fire

Usually succeeds to canopy-dominated by scrub oaks (like turkey oak)

Rolling Hills

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Characterized as having a sufficiently rolling habitat to insure good drainage. Often very productive sites capable of producing excellent longleaf pine timber. Found at 130 to 250 feet above sea level. It is speculated that 30% of the pre-settlement landscape was rolling hill habitat.

Soils

Brown, sandy loam uplands 10 - 15 inches in depth, often with fossiliferous materials. In some areas, the underlying parent material is limestone. Occasionally, limestone pushes through the sandy loam and forms outcroppings.

Common Plants

Beargrass, bluestems, wiregrass, rattlebox, dollar pea, lespedeza, candyroot, procession flower, orange milkwort, pinebarren, and goldenrod

Common Trees and Shrubs

Blackjack oak, turkey oak, willow oak, sand post oak, southern red oak, Florida dogwood, mockernut hickory, black hickory, persimmon, gallberry, yaupon, and wax myrtle

Fire Frequency

One to three years; numerous native bunchgrasses to help carry fire

Without Fire

Hardwoods (often willow oak or sweet gum) capture the forest midstory and overstory shading out ground cover plants

Flatwoods and Savannas

20190126_111421

Characterized as high-density, longleaf pine-dominated forests, the surface is very level, poorly drained and often interspersed with frequent and (sometimes large) swampy patches or wet prairies. Flatwoods can start just above the tidewater and extend inland to about 130 feet above sea level. Productivity is high and longleaf pines reach heights above 120 feet. This longleaf pine habitat type has the highest diversity of ground cover of herbs and shrubs. Since the soils are relatively poorly drained and typically have low reserves of available nutrients, numerous orchids and carnivorous plants are common in the ground cover. These habitats are often described as both the Atlantic Coastal Flatwoods and the Gulf Coastal Flatwoods.

Soils

With moderately to poorly drained terrain, the soils are typically acidic, have low reserves of available nutrients, are low in organic matter content, and maintain an ash-colored silty clay appearance.

Common Plants

Tarflower, wiregrass, toothache grass, bluestems, silk grass, hatpins, muhly grass, pineweeds, pitcher plants, sundews, flytraps, Catesby's lily, white star grass, morning glory, milkweeds, quail pea, butterfly pea, goat's rue, lespedezas, iron weed, and deer tongue

Common Trees and Shrubs

Water oak, sweet gum, red maple, ash, saw palmetto, gallberry, fetterbush, wax myrtle, yaupon, ilex, dwarf live oak, sweet bay, titi, southern magnolia, persimmon, black gum, creeping blueberry, blackberry.

BROWSE THIS SECTION

  • The Tree
    • Life Stages
    • The Economics
    • The History
    • The Misconceptions
  • The Ecosystem
    • Built by Fire
    • Habitats
    • Species Diversity
  • Restoration & Management
    • Groundcover Restoration
    • Herbicides
    • Longleaf Regeneration
    • Prescribed Fire
  • Photo Gallery

From our feed

Why make The Longleaf Alliance your charity of cho Why make The Longleaf Alliance your charity of choice today on #GivingTuesday?👨🏾‍👩🏼‍👧🏽‍👦🏽 1.2 million people reached via Longleaf Academies, technical assistance, field days, workshops, fire training, social media, & other outreach events 🌲 7.9 million longleaf pine seedlings planted🔥 135,471 acres prescribed burned🪚 890 acres of habitat improved (non-fire)🐢 75 gopher tortoise hatchlings headstarted🦎 177 reticulated flatwood salamanders released to restored habitat🏠 40 Red-cockaded Woodpeckers translocated🌲 342 acres of diverse forests conserved❤️ 93% of income allocated to TLA programs and servicesNone of this work would be possible without the collective efforts of longleaf enthusiasts across the natural range and beyond, proving there is no ‘i’ in longleaf.Keep the momentum going with an online donation today at longleafalliance.org > donate (link in bio).
1 billion longleaf pine trees planted! Not only d 1 billion longleaf pine trees planted!Not only did partners from America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative gather in Washington D.C. to celebrate this milestone, but they also witnessed the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding among U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of the Interior, and U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure continued support and collaboration of longleaf pine restoration for the next 15 years!“With this event, we are not only celebrating these successes and renewing our relationships with our Federal agency partners, but we are also looking towards the future of ALRI with the launch of the second iteration of the Range-wide Conservation Plan for Longleaf Pine. We acknowledge that there is still much to be done to reach our restoration goals, and this strategic, science-based plan will serve as a framework as we continue our work to restore, manage, and conserve healthy longleaf forests for generations to come,” said Carol Denhof, Longleaf Partnership Council Chair. 📷 U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Jaelith Hall-Rivera presents Carol Denhof with a symbolic billionth longleaf pine tree to mark the incredible milestone achieved earlier this year. More info on the celebration our bio…
Prescribed fire training and skills honed in the l Prescribed fire training and skills honed in the longleaf pine landscape translates to wildfire response across the country and beyond. 🔥📷 The small world of wildland firefighting…Florida and North Carolina longleaf-ers dispatched to a wildfire in the mountains of western NC sport their The Longleaf Alliance “fire triangle” shirts. #longleafalliance #longleaf #prescribedburn #goodfire #prescribedfire #firetriangle #wildfire
Are you ready for planting season? Despite months Are you ready for planting season? Despite months of planning, some projects may still have last-minute issues with longleaf pine seedling inventory. We are here to help! TLA now has a pinned Facebook post for longleaf pine seedling needs and surplus inventory. Anyone looking for seedlings or anyone with extra seedlings can comment on Facebook to try to find a match. So head over there now > https://longleaf.info/seedlings (link in bio)These trees will move fast!NOTE - Anyone can view the post, but only Facebook users can comment. If you’d like TLA to post a comment on your behalf, submit your information at longleafalliance.org/contact.
Load More

Conservation partners

PCA

PCA

RMS

RMS

Whitfield

Whitfield

Bartlett

Bartlett

Enviva

Enviva

Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern

advantage

advantage

Blanton

Blanton

Drax

Drax

Fram

Fram

IFCO

IFCO

Kronospan

Kronospan

Manulife

Manulife

McLeod Rhodes

McLeod Rhodes

  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • What is Longleaf?
  • What We Do
  • What You Can Do
  • The Longleaf Library
  • Photo Gallery
  • Merchandise
  • Events
  • News
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
footer-logo

12130 Dixon Center Road
Andalusia, Alabama 36420
Phone: 334.427.1029







©2021 The Longleaf Alliance
Web Design by HLJ Creative